MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Guatemala voting for president in neck-and-neck runoff

Perez and Colom to meet tomorrow at the General Elections

Guatemalans are set to vote Sunday for president in a second-round election between hardline General Otto Perez and social democrat Alvaro Colom.

Around 6 million voters in a country of close to 13 million people are eligible to choose between the two candidates, who topped a field of 14 in the first round of voting on September 9. Colom won a plurality of 25.6 per cent, with Perez runner up at 21.3 per cent. Two opinion polls by different companies published Wednesday in the daily Prensa Libre predicted a close election, with Perez slightly ahead. The surveys gave Perez a lead of around 5 percentage points over Colom, equivalent to the margin of error. Polling stations are scheduled to open at 7 am (1300 GMT) and close 11 hours later. Debate during the campaign centred on crime and on infiltration of the state and its institutions by organized crime. Guatemala averages more than 10 murders per day and with neighbouring El Salvador and Honduras has the highest homicide rates in Latin America. Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, and 56 per cent of its population lives in poverty. The country is part of the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and relies heavily on exports of coffee, sugar and bananas. Remittances from expatriates in the United States are Guatemala's main source of income and exceed the combined value of exports and revenues from tourism. The winner of Sunday's election will be sworn in for a four-year term on January 14.